Angle sensor

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to an angle sensor which is only protected by an encasement body without having a surrounding protective housing.

AREA OF APPLICATION

The invention relates to an angle sensor, which reacts to a magneticencoder.

TECHNICAL BACKGROUND

In such angle sensors, the rotation angle transmission between theencoder, thus the magnet, and the sensor element in the angle sensor,which is typically configured in the form of an electronic chip (IC), isexclusively performed by magnetic field lines and in particular withoutmechanical coupling, so that the sensor element and in particular theentire angle sensor, can be completely encased and disposed in a spaceof its own, as long as it is thus assured that the magnetic field of theencoder magnet can penetrate into said space up to the sensor element.

For sensor elements, elements are being used, which operate according tothe “Hall-principle” or according to the magneto-resistive principle.

In the state-of-the art angle sensors are known, in which the sensorelement in the form of an IC and additional electrical components, whichare used for processing the signals of the IC, are jointly disposed on acircuit board and said entire circuit is disposed in a surroundinghousing.

Depending on the application, thus prevailing environmental conditions,different, partially contrarian objectives have to be accomplished:

-   -   On one hand the housing shall be configured as mechanically        stable as possible and shall therefore be made of metal;    -   on the other hand the housing has to be shielded against        interference effects from magnetic fields, which do not        originate from the encoder magnet, wherein a magnetic shielding        made of iron is preferred;    -   the angle sensor shall producible in the most cost effective        manner and shall thus be configured as simple as possible; and    -   Furthermore the electronics have to be protected against the        penetration of moisture, which would always lead to a defect of        the sensor element medium term. Thus the greater risk mostly        does not come from a surge of moisture, but from moisture slowly        penetrating due to capillary effects e.g. through the strands of        the cables connected to the electronics and leading to the        outside, the so called longitudinal water.

With respects to these conflicting requirements there are currently twodifferent embodiments available in the market:

On the one hand, there are angle sensors, in which the entireelectronics are mechanically well protected in a mostly pot shaped metalhousing, and also well protected against penetrating moisture, whereinhowever the metal housing and its sealing cause manufacturing complexityand thus high cost.

On the other hand, there are angle sensors, in which the electronics aredirectly mounted to the circuit board, which is bolted down at the placeof installation, and wherein the electronics are only protected by aplastic cap in a basic manner against mechanical damage and are notsealed against moisture at all.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

a) Technical object

Thus it is the object of the invention to provide an angle sensor, aswell as a method for producing said angle sensor, wherein said anglesensor can be produced in a simple and cost effective manner, whileproviding adequate protection against mechanical damage, as well asprotection against penetration of moisture, without having to resort toa complex separate housing.

b) Solution

This object is accomplished by the features of patent claims 1 and 33.Advantageous embodiments can be derived from the dependent claims.

Since the electronic circuit of the angle sensor including the sensorelement on the carrier board is completely surrounded by an encasementbody and the circuit furthermore does not have a surrounding housing,besides the mostly only one-sided carrier body, which is normally only acarrier board for mounting to the vicinity, production is very costeffective, because no production cost is incurred for a housingsurrounding the shaped body.

Even the mounting of the circuit board to the carrier body or to thecarrier board, in case these are separate components, can be performedby using the encasement body and thus can be performed in the same step,in which the circuit is encased.

Nevertheless, said encasement body provides adequate sealing against thepenetration of contaminants and in particular moisture, and furthermoreprovides adequate mechanical protection for the circuit of the anglesensor and in particular for the sensor element itself, since theencasement body is body made of hardened encasement compound, which issufficiently stable in hardened state, which can be accomplished inparticular by a two layered encasement with an outer hard layer.

While the encasement body adhering to the particular circuit boardreliably prevents the penetration in particular of moisture between theencasement body and the circuit board, the penetration of moisturethrough the cable leading to the angle sensor has to be separatelyprevented by a longitudinal water barrier in the cable inlet, which ispreferably also disposed inside the encasement body and can beimplemented using the encasement body.

A longitudinal water barrier of this type is implemented by preventingthe capillary conduction to the circuit between the strand wires of astrand by stripping the strand of its insulation and tinning it over anadequate length, whereby the soldering tin also penetrates into the gapsbetween the individual strand wires, which creates a solid crosssection.

In the longitudinal gap between the lead insulation and the strandwires, water can creep forward, however, it cannot penetrate furthertowards the circuit where it exits at the end of the lead insulation, incase this end is either still located outside the encasement body, whichhowever is not permissible in order to protect the strands, which arethen bare, against contact, or said end is encased in the encasementbody, thus no additional capillary paths for the water are provided.

The same also applies to water creeping forward between the cable jacketand the particular lead insulations.

In order to provide a reliable adhesion of the encasement body at theparticular board, in particular at the circuit board, thus to providetightness against moisture, it is furthermore provided that the board isnot coated with metal or any other barely adhering material at least ina circumferentially enclosed in particular circular ring portion aboutthe circuit, but that said ring portion is not treated and may evencomprise an additionally roughened surface of the plastic of the circuitboard, and said ring portion is also covered by the encasement body. Atthis surface portion a very strong adhesion or connection of theencasement body occurs with the material of the circuit board, whichprevents moisture from creeping to the circuit.

This is further improved when a groove is fabricated in said ringportion, which surrounds the circuit in an annular manner, which on theone hand improves the adhesion of the material of the encasement body,and furthermore extends the potential radial creeping path of moistureto the circuit.

These measures are useful, because a continuously tight adhesion at theencasement body is much more difficult to reach at the location, wherethe encasement body contacts the metalized surface of the circuit board,due to the smooth surface of the metalized surfaces.

The encasement body should furthermore be attached mechanicallysufficiently tight to the particular board, so it will not disconnecteasily in the event of impacts, vibrations, or similar circumstances. Anadditional form-locked mounting of the encasement body at the circuitboard is used for this purpose.

When the circuit board and the carrier body, in particular the carrierboard, are separate elements, this will be achieved by the encasementbody surrounding the circuit board with the circuit on all sides andadditionally contacting the upper side of the carrier body, inparticular the upper side of the carrier board, and adhering to it. Onthe one hand, an additional mechanical connection between the circuitboard and the carrier board, like e.g. a bolted connection, can possiblybe completely dispensed with, on the other hand, reaching around thecircuit board also causes mechanical interlocking. In these cases thecarrier board will preferably be comprised of metal.

However, when the carrier board simultaneously forms the circuit board,it is typically made of a core made of non-conductive plastic, e.g.glass fiber reinforced plastic, which is coated at least on the upperside with conductive metal, typically with copper, for forming a circuitboard. Additionally, the copper layer is coated or galvanized with amore corrosion resistant metal layer, made of zinc, silver or gold, andthis is preferably not only done in the portions where it has to provideconductive paths for the circuit, but also in the entire portion locatedoutside of the encasement body of said combined carrier-/circuit board,thus on the upper side and on the bottom side and also on the narrowsides and even on the interior flanks of mounting bore holes, in orderto prevent moisture from penetrating into the plastic material of theboard.

In order to provide a form locked connection with said combinedcarrier-/circuit board, the encasement body reaches around portions ofthe exterior circumference of said board on the narrow sides, and thosenarrow sides are preferably provided in said enveloped portion with across section, which is curved outward in a convex manner, whose highestpoint is enveloped by the encasement body, e.g. by the encasement bodysitting on the upper side, reaching over the narrow side portions intothe bottom side.

Additionally, and/or in a supplemental manner, anchor bore holes areprovided in the combined carrier-/circuit board, which reach throughsaid board from the upper side to the bottom side, and into which theencasement body reaches, and which the encasement body fills completely.In particular, when these anchor bore holes are not provided in parallelto the transversal direction of the plane of the board, but at an angleto said plane or when they expand towards the side facing away from theencasement body, the encasement body is held in a form locked manner.

The ring portion, which is not metal coated, which is used for improvingthe adhesion of the encasement body, is simultaneously used as a lock.Through said ring portion and beyond, the stripped and tinned strands,e.g. of the electric supply leads, are encased in the encasement body,and thus preferably curved through said ring portion in order toincrease the potential creeping distance.

The tinned strand or the solid wire, which leads in a radial directionbeyond the non-coated rim portion of the circuit board, can be thestrand wire of the supply cable or a separate strand. Preferably,however, also when using the strand wire of the supply leads, or thesupply cable, an additional soldering is performed outside of the ringportion of the circuit board, which facilitates additional pull relief,since said solder point is also encased by the encasement body andadheres to it in a tight manner, and adheres to all elements of thecircuit and to all contact surfaces of the circuit board in a tightmanner, since it is encased by the encasement compound, while it is in asticky state.

The stripped portions of the strand wire of the supply cable canpreferably be prevented from establishing mutual contact duringencasement by non-conductive plastic spacers.

Since the sensor element of said sensor reacts to magnetic field lines,interfering magnetic fields besides those of the encoder magnet arepossibly prevented from penetrating to the sensor element, whichpreferably provides a magnetic shielding of said angle sensor. For thispurpose, either the carrier board itself is made of a magneticallyconductive material, or it comprises such layer, or a separate boardmade of such magnetically conductive material, like e.g. soft iron,ferrite or nickel, is disposed on its backside.

Said shielding board seen in top view covers at least the portion of thecircuit of the angle sensor including the sensor element.

For mechanical mounting, said shielding board preferably has threadedrim holes, which fit into the mounting bore holes of the carrier board,which are located therein outside of the encasement body and which arepreferably provided as slotted holes, extending in an arc about thesensor element.

Since the threaded rim holes have a length, which corresponds at leastto the thickness of the carrier board, the mounting bolts then contactthe threaded rim holes and not the carrier board, which prevents themetal coating of the carrier board from being damaged by tightening themounting bolts.

Since the threaded rim holes are not configured as slotted holes, theycan be moved and positioned along the slotted holes in the carrier boardwithout laterally protruding beyond the carrier board in top view.

For an even better magnetic shielding, also from the front, theencasement body can be configured in several layers, with an innerlayer, which is connected to the circuit, and with an outer layer, whichis magnetically conductive through additive materials, or through areceived solid body, and which is in particular in contact with thecoating of the carrier board or the of the carrier-/circuit boardoutside of the non-coated ring portion, and thus also magneticallyshields the sensor element from the front. Only in the very portionabove the sensor element, said shielding does not exist, in particularsaid second layer of the encasement body does not exist.

A two-layer encasement can also be used to leave the inner layer of theencasement elastic also in hardened state, thereby minimizing stressrelative to the components of the circuit, e.g. due to temperatureexpansion.

Such magnetic shielding should have a high permeability p of at least100, better at least 1000, or even better at least 50,000, and shall bedisposed as close to the sensor element as possible, in particularcloser than 6 mm. The material, by which the shielding is effectuated,shall have a coercive field strength Hc of less than 5 A/cm, better lessthan 0.5 A/cm, better less than 0.05 A/cm, and can also be comprised ofplastic bound ferrite, hard ferrite, or nano-crystalline iron. In amultilayer configuration of the shielding, in particular one layer canhave a particularly high permeability and the other layer can have aparticularly low remanence.

The angle sensor according to the invention is preferably configuredflat or board shaped, wherein the sensor element, which is typicallyconfigured as a chip, is disposed in parallel to the main plane of theboard shaped angle sensor, preferably on the front face of a circuitboard, disposed in parallel with the main plane of the sensor. Besidesthe sensor element, the circuit board also carries the processingelectronics for the signals of the sensor element and in particular atransmitter for wireless transmission of said signals of the processingelectronics to the ambient.

Preferably the processing electronics are still programmable incompletely assembled state, in particular either through an additionalelectrical conductor in the cable, or also wirelessly by radio signalsor optical signals, or by programming through the existing electricalsupply conductors by transitioning into a programming mode. Since theencasement body is made from transparent material and the circuitcomprises in particular light emitting diodes and other opticallyrecognizable and switchable elements, the functioning of the anglesensor and possibly also its programming state can be sensed any time.

Such angle sensor is being manufactured by advantageously producing itin parallel with many other angle sensors until it is functional andtested.

The encasement is then performed either for each particular sensor afterseparating the particular angle sensors from the plurality, or forseveral angle sensors, which are still connected amongst one another,either for the whole plurality or for a portion of the plurality, e.g. astrip of adjacent circuit boards of angle sensors, which are stillconnected amongst one another, which reduces the time necessary forencasement, however, then the subsequent separation spots of the circuitboards cannot be encased through molding simultaneously.

In order to subsequently facilitate the alignment of the indicatormagnet with the sensor element in the angle sensor, a marker for thecenter of the sensor can be disposed on the upper side of the encasementbody, in particular in the form of an indentation or of a protrusion atthe encasement body. Preferably, also the encoder magnet itself has sucha marker.

For assembly, the encoder magnet and the sensor element shall be broughtas close together as possible, but they shall not touch one another. Forthis reason, a marker in the form of a protrusion is preferablyremovably configured either on the side of the encoder magnet or of theangle sensor, e.g. removable from the respective carrier component.

EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the invention are subsequently described in more detailin an exemplary manner. It is shown in:

FIG. 1 a first embodiment of the angle sensor;

FIG. 2 a detailed illustration of the longitudinal water barrier;

FIG. 3 an embodiment without a mounting bore hole;

FIG. 4 an embodiment with a separate circuit board 1; and

FIG. 5 an illustration of the angle sensor 0 together with an encodermagnet 22.

In FIG. 1, the carrier board 9, which is used for the mechanicalstability and for connecting to a component in the vicinity,simultaneously forms the circuit board 1, so that in this case acombined carrier board/circuit board 9/1 can be referred to.

This combined board 9/1 is comprised of a mechanically stable,electrically non-conductive core, like e.g. glass fiber reinforcedplastic (GRP), and is mostly coated in an electrically conductive manneron its exterior surface, mostly copper plated, and said layer is in turncovered by a corrosion protection layer (galvanized zinc or gold layer),which is not illustrated in the drawings.

The upper side 9 a of the combined board 9/1, which is also partiallycoated in this manner, is then used as a circuit board 1.

For this purpose, the portion of the upper side 9 a, where components 4have to be mounted onto the circuit board 1 in order to implement theelectrical circuit, is only provided with coating in the form ofconductive paths and solder joints according to the previouslyconfigured design of the circuit, and said portion of the circuit issurrounded by a circumferential annular portion 21, which is closed inring shape on the upper side 9 a and in which no electrically conductivecoating is provided on the core made of non-conductive plastic.

Said annular portion 21 is thus used for electrically insulating theportion of the circuit serving as circuit board 1 from the rest of theelectrically conductive coating, located outside of said portion of thecircuit. Outside of the non-coated ring portion 21′, the combined board9/1 protrudes in a radial direction, in this case, in two directionsopposite to one another, in order to thereby be able to be mounted to acomponent in the vicinity, in the present case by mounting bore holes 6,which are provided here as slotted holes 18, which are configured arcshaped about the center of the combined board 9/1, wherein said slottedholes reach through the combined board 9/1.

FIG. 1 a illustrates how the components 4 of the circuit and, amongothers, the sensor element 5 in the form of an IC, are mounted on theupper side 9 a, and connected in an electrically conductive manner tothe conductive paths in the portion of the circuit on the upper side 9a.

The circuit on the upper side 9 a is furthermore protected against thepenetration of moisture and dust, as well as against mechanical damages,through encasement with an encasement compound hardening in theencasement mold, wherein said encasement compound subsequently forms anencasement body 3. Said encasement body 3 encases the entire circuit,thus all components 4 including the sensor element 5 of the circuit, andcontacts the surface 9 a of the combined board 9/1 in a tight manner,wherein it covers the portion of the circuit and also covers the ringportion 21′, which is not coated in an electrically conductive manner,and preferably also covers the portion, which is disposed outside of thering portion 21, which is coated in an electrically conductive manner.

Since the encasement material does not adhere very well to theelectrically conductive coating, it is provided to achieve a form lockedconnection of the encasement body 3 with the combined board 9/1, inparticular with its non-conductive core, also beyond the friction lockedconnection to the non-coated ring portion 21. This is facilitated in thepresent case by a combination of two measures:

On the one hand, anchoring bore holes 17, which reach through the board9/1, are disposed within the portion covered by the encasement body 3,preferably within the non-coated ring portion 21. The interiorcircumferential surfaces of said bore holes 6 are preferably also notcoated with metal, so that the encasement material can interlock in therelatively rough walls of the bore holes, and also the non-coatedsurface 9 a, e.g. in the ring portion 21′, is relatively rough. There,however, the unevenness does not yield friction locking in liftoffdirection, thus transversal to the board plane 30.

Above all, a friction locking is accomplished in the mounting bore holes6, by these bore holes either expanding cone shaped towards the lowerside 9 b of the board 9/1, as shown in FIG. 1 a, in the left half, or asillustrated in the right half of the depiction, extending at a slantangle to the transversal direction 31 with reference to the board plane30.

Since said bore holes are preferably filled with encasement material upto the bottom side 9 b, there is a form locked adhesion in the mountingbore holes 6.

Furthermore, the encasement body 3, as illustrated in detail in crosssection in FIG. 1 c, encloses a portion of the narrow sides 9 c of thecombined board 9/1, which has approximately a rectangular shape in thiscase.

Since the encasement body 1, seen in top view, has a round shape, whosediameter is greater than the width of the board 9/1, the centrallydisposed encasement body 3 laterally protrudes beyond the board 9/1, andsince it extends in elevation, thus viewed in transversal direction 31,to the lower side 9 b of the encased board 9/1, it reaches around thenarrow side 9 c in the center portion of the long narrow side.

In this location, the narrow side 9 c, however, is not electricallyconductive and metal coated, like the remaining narrow sides, but itdoes not have a coating, and additionally the narrow side 9 c has aconvex curvature to the outside, in this case provided as a bar 28.

This occurs e.g. because during the manufacture of the particular boardsin said narrow side portion, the particular boards 9/1 were stillconnected amongst one another, and are only separated in this locationby a knife or a cutter after the contour 9/1 and its electricallyconductive coating, e.g. by incision on both sides and subsequentbreaking, which creates the bar 28.

Said bar 28 is thus enveloped by the encasement body 3 in a form lockedmanner from the top to the bottom on the outside, and additionally theencasement body 3 also adheres very well in a friction locked manner atthe non-coated surface of the bar.

Since the sensor element 5 shall react to magnetic fields, which areexpected from an opposite encoder magnet (which is only illustrated inFIG. 5), the sensor element shall be shielded in cases where there arealso interfering magnetic fields against said interfering magneticfields by a magnetically conductive material.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1 this can be achieved in a simple manner byplacing a shielding board 9′ made of such magnetically conductivematerial under before bolting down the angle sensor 2, wherein saidshielding board covers at least the portion of the sensor element 5,better of the entire circuit, and extends for the purpose of simplerbolting down also into the portion of the mounting bore holes 6, whichare provided as slotted holes 18 in this case.

While the combined board 9/1 is substantially rectangular and protrudesbeyond the round encasement body 3 onto opposite sides with the entirewidth, the shielding board 9′ preferably comprises two protrusions,which only taper to a point in diametrical direction in said twodirections of the encasement body 3, in whose tips the rim hole forbolting down is disposed. Said rim hole is preferably provided asthreaded rim hole with an axial length, which is equal to or greaterthan the thickness of the combined board 9/1 and with such diameter,that said threaded rim hole fits into the mounting bore hole up to 6, orinto the slotted hole 18.

Bolting down the angle sensor at a component in the vicinity can thusindependently, from at which location of the slotted hole 18 the boltingis performed, always also be performed through the respective mountingbore hole and the threaded rim hole of the shielding board 9′, since itcan be pivoted within the slotted hole 18 without protruding beyond theexterior dimensions of the combined board 9/1.

FIG. 1 a furthermore shows the multilayer production of the encasementbody 3 as an option, since it comprises a layer 3 b in the left portionof FIG. 1 a of the layer 3 a, which is electrically non-conductive,wherein said layer 3 b also contacts on the upper side 9 a of thecombined board 9/1, which is conductive overall through additives orthrough receiving a foreign object in its interior, which are comprisedrespectively of magnetically conductive material, and thus yield ashielding of the sensor element 5 on its topside, wherein the portiondirectly above the sensor element 5 certainly must not be magneticallycovered, and the layer 3 b of the encasement body 3 should not bepresent in said location.

Thus, a magnetic shielding of the sensor element 5 can be accomplishedon almost all sides, besides the narrow sides of the combined board 9/1,which, however, are so small that a penetration of interfering magneticfields in this location is extremely unlikely.

In order to further improve the adhesion of the encasement body in thenon-coated ring portion 21′, said ring portion 12′ can be configured asa groove with increased depth or such a groove 21 can be disposed withinthe non-coated ring portion 21′. Besides the better adhesion through therough surface of the groove 21, the potential creeping distance, whichthe moisture has to cover, is extended in radial direction from outsideof the ring portion 21′ towards the interior of the ring portion 21′ bysaid groove 21, which gives the groove the ability to interrupt thecapillaries.

In FIG. 1 b, furthermore the electrically insulated leads 29 areillustrated, which lead to the electrical circuit and which are bettervisible in the enlarged sectional view in the detailed illustrations ofFIG. 2 a and 2 b, including the longitudinal water block, visible insaid location.

The same capillary interrupting effect is intended by the specificconfiguration of the electrical connection of the circuit within thering portion 21′ with the cable run in from the exterior of the ringportion or with its leads 29 ab.

It is important in this context that the electrically non-conductivering portion 21 or the groove 21′ are bridged in radial direction in anelectrically conductive manner by a electrically conductive solid wire14 or a strand, reaching around each electrical lead 29 ab, startingwith said ring portion, wherein in case a strand is used, said strand iscompletely tinned.

By tinning, a circumferentially closed surface of the strand isaccomplished, and through the penetration of the liquid soldering tininto the interior of the strand between the particular strand wires,also the cross section is closed internally, and does not provide anycavities extending in longitudinal direction for the penetration of theso-called longitudinal water.

Said wire or said strand 14 is fixated inside and outside of the ringportion 21′ at soldering joints 20 on the upper side 9 a, thus of thecircuit board 1, and extends at a distance above the upper side 9 a, andis therefore also completely enclosed by the encasement body 3 in theportion between the ends. Through the adhesion of the encasement body,neither along the surface of the wire or of the strand 14 moisture canpenetrate, nor in the interior of the strand due to the soldering tin ofthe closed cavities, or due to the lack of existence of such cavities incase of a solid wire.

In order to additionally enlarge the potential creeping distance formoisture also in this case, the wire or the strand 14 is preferablymounted in an arc, so it curves away from the upper side 9 a, asillustrated in FIG. 2 a. While FIG. 2 a shows a separate piece of strand14, also the extended stripped end of the strand 19 of the run-in lead29 can be used, wherein, however, said strand 19 is still solderedoutside of the ring portion 21′ on the circuit board 1.

In order to also stop the penetration of longitudinal water eitherbetween the strand 19 and the lead insulation 29, the insulation of thelead 29 preferably already ends within the encasement body 3. If it wereto end outside of the encasement body 3, longitudinal, water exiting atthis location, however, would not reach the circuit either, however, thestrand 19, which is stripped of its insulation, would not be shieldedoutside of the encasement body 3.

The same applies, when the particular leads 29 ab are bundled into acable, for the jacket of the cable which is not shown.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment, which differs from the embodiment of FIG. 1,only with respect to the mounting of the combined board 9/1 in thevicinity.

The combined board 9/1 protrudes in this case on all sides beyond theencasement body 3 and can thus be bolted in any location, e.g. byindicated clamping shoes 11, to a component in the vicinity.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment in a sectional view, which is similar to FIG.1 a, wherein the difference to FIG. 1 a is that the circuit board 1 andthe carrier board 9 are separate components in this case.

As a carrier board 9, preferably a metal carrier board is selected,while the circuit board 1 is a typical circuit board material made of anon-conductive plastic with an electrically conductive selectivelyapplied coating, which is at least applied on one side, wherein on theupper side of said circuit board, facing away from the carrier board 9,the circuit is constructed by the sensor element 5 and additionalelectronic components 4.

The entire circuit board 1 including the circuit constructed thereon, isthus enclosed tight by the encasement body 3 besides the leads 29,leading into the encasement body 3, electrical cables or the spacerelements 10, which mechanically fixate the circuit board 1 at thecarrier board 9, e.g. by a bolted connection illustrated in FIG. 4 b.

To the contrary, FIG. 4 a features a mechanical connection between thecircuit board 1 and the carrier board 9 only by positioning the carrierboard 9 during encasement by the encasement body 3, and the encasementbody 3 thus being friction locked to the carrier board 9, and possiblyadditionally being mounted to the carrier board 9 by the describedanchoring bore holes 17, and/or by the form locked overreaching ofportion of the narrow sides of the carrier board 9, which can beprovided in the solution according to FIG. 4, separately, or incombination.

FIG. 5 shows the angle sensor 2, viewed in the board plane 30, togetherwith the encoder magnet 22, opposite to the sensor 2. The function ofthe angle sensor is thus the more exact, the more precise the center ofthe encoder magnet 22, whose pole connection line should be as parallelas possible to the board plane 30, is aligned with the sensor element 5in the angle sensor 2.

In order to facilitate this, when mounting the encoder magnet 22, theencasement body 3 of the angle sensor 2 comprises a marker 15 at itsupper side 3 a above the angle sensor 5, wherein said marker indicatesthe position of the sensor element 5, and to which the center of theencoder magnet 22 can then easily be aligned. In this case the marker 15is an indentation.

Additionally, the encoder magnet can comprise a marker 16 between thepoles for the center of the encoder magnet, wherein said marker ispreferably provided as a protrusion or vice versa. However, during theoperation of the sensor unit, no touching of the encoder magnet 22 andthe angle sensor 2 is provided. The marker configured as protrusion, inthis case the marker 16 for the center of the magnet, should beremovable after assembly, in order to reliably avoid such contact.

DESIGNATIONS

1 circuit board

2 angle sensor

3 encasement body

4 components

5 sensor element

6 mounting bore hole

7 copper coating

8 corrosion protection

9 carrier board

9′ shielding board

10 spacer element

11 clamping shoe

12 bolt element

13 metal sleeve

14 bridging wire/strand

15 marker sensor center

16 marker magnet center

17 mounting bore hole

18 slotted hole

19 strand

20 solder joint

21 groove

21′ ring portion

22 indicator magnet

28 bar

29 29 a, b lead

30 board plane

31 transversal direction

1. An angle sensor (2) comprising a magnetically sensitive face portion,which operates according to the Hall-principle or according to themagneto resistive principle, comprising a sensor element (5) proximal toits front face, wherein the angle sensor (2) comprises a carrier body,in particular a carrier board (9), which is used for mounting to thevicinity; the electric circuit of the angle sensor (2), mounted to acircuit board (1), is completely enclosed by a hardened encasement body;the encasement body is mounted to the circuit board (1) in a form lockedmanner and through adhesion.
 2. An angle sensor (2) according to claim1, wherein a longitudinal water barrier is provided in the cable infeed, preferably within the encasement body. (Form locked mounting ofthe encasement body)
 3. An angle sensor (2) according to one of thepreceding claims, wherein the circuit board (1) is mounted at a distancefrom the carrier board (9) and the encasement body (3) encloses thecircuit board (1) on all sides, in particular rests on the upper side ofthe carrier board (9).
 4. An angle sensor (2) according to one of thepreceding claims, wherein the carrier board (9) is comprised of sheetmetal.
 5. An angle sensor (2) according to one of the preceding claims,wherein the carrier board (9) simultaneously forms the circuit board(1), and the encasement body contacts the upper side (9 a) of thecircuit board (1), which carries the circuit, so that the entire circuitis covered and the encasement body (3) encloses contour portions of thecarrier board/circuit board (1/9), which comprise a contour, whichchanges in transversal direction (31) of the board plane (30).
 6. Anangle sensor (2) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein theencasement body (3) reaches into the anchor bore holes (17) and fillsthem in particular, wherein said bore holes extend in particular at aslant angle to the transversal direction (31), or conically expandtowards the backside (9 b) of the carrier board (9).
 7. An angle sensor(2) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the encasementbody (3) reaches around portions of the carrier-/circuit board (9/1) onits narrow sides (9 c), and the narrow sides comprise a cross sectioncontour in this portion, which is curved in a convex manner to theoutside from the transversal direction (31).
 8. An angle sensor (2)according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the combinedcarrier-/circuit board (9/1) is made of plastic, in particular made of afiber reinforced plastic, in particular made of glass fiber reinforcedepoxy (GRP), and partially comprises a metal coating, which iselectrically conductive, in particular comprises a copper coating (7);the metal coating comprises all portions of the carrier-/circuit board(9/1), which are not covered by the encasement body (3), including allnarrow sides (90 c) of said board (9/1); and the metal coating ispossibly only provided on the surface portion of the upper side (9 a),which is covered by the encasement body (3), where the coating isrequired for an electrical conductor path.
 9. An angle sensor (2)according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a portion, which is aslarge as possible, of the upper side (9 a) of the carrier board (9),which is covered by the encasement body (3), is the untreated, inparticular roughened upper side of the plastic of the carrier board (9).10. An angle sensor (2) according to one of the preceding claims,wherein the portion of the upper side (9 a) of the carrier board, whichis covered by the encasement body (3) and not coated by metal, extendsabout the circuit in a closed annular, in particular circular manner,and a groove is fabricated in the upper side (9 a) in said ring portion(21), wherein said groove has in particular a capillary interruptingeffect and is in particular also closed in an annular manner, whereinthe encasement body (3) also fills said groove. The anchor bore holesare disposed outside of the ring portions. (Corrosion protection)
 11. Anangle sensor (2) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein theportions of the carrier-/circuit board (9/1), which are metal coated inan electrically conductive manner, are covered by a minimally corroding,in particular metal layer, in particular a galvanic layer, in particulara zinc or gold layer. (Magnetic shielding)
 12. An angle sensor (2)according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the carrier board (9)is comprised of a magnetically conductive material, or the combinedcarrier-/circuit board (9/1) comprises a layer of magneticallyconductive material on its backside, either as a coating or as aseparate board, e.g. nickel.
 13. An angle sensor (2) according to one ofthe preceding claims, wherein the magnetically conductive shieldingboard (9′) comprises threaded rim holes for bolting to the floor.
 14. Anangle sensor (2) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein thecarrier board (9) or the combined carrier-/circuit board (9/1) comprisesmounting bore holes (6) in the portions not covered by the encasementbody (3), which are configured in particular as slotted holes (18), forbolting to a component in the vicinity, and in particular the threadedrim holes of the shielding board (9′) are positioned, so that they fitinto the mounting bore holes (6).
 15. An angle sensor (2) according toone of the preceding claims, wherein the shielding board (9′) covers theportion of the circuit at least seen in top view, in particular theportion covered by the encasement body (3), and the threaded rim holesare located outside of the portion of the encasement body (3).
 16. Anangle sensor (2) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein thecarrier board (9), in particular the combined carrier-/circuit board(9/1), protrudes on all sides beyond the portion covered by theencasement body (3) in order to mount to a component in the vicinity byclamping shoes. (Longitudinal water barrier)
 17. An angle sensor (2)according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the jacket of a cableconnected to the circuit, and/or the lead insulations of the leads of acable connected to a circuit end within the encasement body (3),however, outside of the portion, which surrounds the circuit in anannular manner and which is not coated by metal in a conductive manner;and said ring portion (21′) is bridged in an electrically conductivemanner by the strand (19) of the lead or of the cable to the circuit bya solid wire or a tinned strand (14), bridging said ring portion (21′)in radial direction.
 18. An angle sensor (2) according to one of thepreceding claims, wherein the bridging wire/strand (14) is the end ofthe strand wire (19), where the insulation is stripped.
 19. An anglesensor (2) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein thewire/strand (14) bridging the ring portion (21′) curves in an arc awayfrom the upper surface (9 a) of the carrier board (9), or of thecombined carrier-/circuit board (9/1), into the encasement body (3), andis configured as long as possible.
 20. An angle sensor (2) according toone of the preceding claims, wherein when using the strand wire (19) asbridging wire/strand (14), the strand (19) is soldered to the circuitboard (1) or (9/1), also outside of the ring portion (21′) as apull-relief.
 21. An angle sensor (2) according to one of the precedingclaims, wherein the portions of the strand wire (19), where theinsulation is stripped, are prevented from contacting one another bynon-conductive spacers, in particular during the molding of theencasement body (3).
 22. An angle sensor (2) according to one of thepreceding claims, wherein the encasement body (3) is configured inseveral layers with an inner layer (3 a), which is connected inparticular to the circuit, and an outer layer (3 b), which ismagnetically conductive through additives or through integrated shapedbodies, and which is in particular in contact with the coating of thecarrier board (9) or the carrier-/circuit board (9/1) outside of thering portion (21).
 23. An angle sensor (2) according to one of thepreceding claims, wherein the non-coated ring portion (21) extendsradially outward into the portion of the anchor bore holes (17). (Markerfor center of sensor)
 24. An angle sensor (2) according to one of thepreceding claims, wherein the angle sensor (2) comprises a marker (15)for the center of the sensor on the upper side (3 a) of the encasementbody (3), in particular provided in the form of an indentation or of aprotrusion.
 25. An angle sensor (2) according to one of the precedingclaims, wherein the shielding comprises a high permeability of μ>100,better>1,000, and better>50,000.
 26. An angle sensor (2) according toone of the preceding claims, wherein the sensor shielding is disposedvery close to the sensor element (4), in particular closer than 6 mm,and the material of said shielding has a coercive field strength Hc<5A/cm, better<than 0.5 A/cm, better<than 0.05 A/cm.
 27. An angle sensor(2) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the shielding ismade of plastic bound ferrite or of hard ferrite or of nano-crystallineiron.
 28. A sensor unit according to one of the preceding claims,wherein the shielding is comprised of several layers, of which inparticular one layer has a particularly high permeability, and the otherlayer has a particularly low hysteresis.
 29. An angle sensor (2)according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the angle sensor (2)is configured flat and plate shaped, and the sensor element (4), inparticular a chip (7), is disposed in parallel to the main plane of theplate shaped angle sensor (2), in particular on the front side of acircuit board (6), disposed in parallel to the main plane, wherein saidfront side faces the front face (2 a).
 30. An angle sensor (2) accordingto one of the preceding claims, wherein the circuit board (6) carriesthe processing electronics for the signals of the sensor element (4), inparticular also a transmitter for wireless transmission of the sensorsignals.
 31. An angle sensor (2) according to one of the precedingclaims, wherein the processing electronics are programmable incompletely finished state, in particular either through at least oneadditional electrical conductor in the cable, or wirelessly by radio oroptical signals.
 32. An angle sensor (2) according to one of thepreceding claims, wherein the encasement is performed in two layers witha flexible elastomeric, encasing the electronic components, inparticular silicone gel or polyurethane resin, and with a hard layerenclosing said inner layer, in particular a thermoplastic material. 33.An angle sensor (2) according to one of the preceding claims, whereinthe encasement body (3) is comprised of transparent material and inparticular the circuit comprises light emitting diodes (LEDs) or otheroptically detectable switchable elements.
 34. A method for producing theangle sensor (2), in particular according to one of the precedingclaims, wherein defined portions of the upper side (9 a) of the combinedcarrier-/circuit board (9/1) are coated with a solder stop maskprotective lacquer; pluralities of units are cut out of a plastic board,which are arranged in multiples next to one another and which correspondto the shape of the subsequent combined carrier-/circuit board (9/1),and which are still connected amongst one another at small contactspots; the plurality of still connected units is subsequently coated inan electrically conductive manner on all sides, in particular coppercoated; and subsequently also coated on all sides in an envelopingmanner by a corrosion protection layer, in particular a galvanic layer;the particular units are separated from one another at the contactspots, in particular by cutting or milling, and a cutting surface iscreated at the separation spot viewed in the board plane (30), whereinsaid cutting surface does not extend in parallel to the transversaldirection (31) of the board plane, but comprises in particular a lug,which protrudes from the unit in a convex manner; before and after theseparation into particular units, anchoring bore holes (17) are impartedin particular at a slant angle to the transversal direction (18), orexpanding towards the backside (9 b) of the carrier board (9/1), inparticular from the backside (9 b); the circuit is soldered on orriveted onto the upper side (9 a) of the combined carrier-/circuit board(9/1); the circuit is connected in an electrically conducting mannerwith the supply leads or with the supply cable; the combinedcarrier-/circuit board (9/1) is inserted into an encasement mold (3′),and encasement material (3′), which is still flow capable, is injected,and thereby the encasement body (3) is fabricated at the board (9) or(9/1); and the circuit board (1), in particular the combinedcarrier-/circuit board (9/1), creates the electrical circuit and theunit is metal coated outside of the non-coated ring portion (21′),wherein after separating the angle sensors from the plurality of unitsunit, each particular angle sensor is provided with an encasement body(3) through encasement, or angle sensors, which are not yet separatedfrom one another, are simultaneously provided with particular encasementbodies through encasement.